Definitions for civil union

Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word civil union.

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

civil union(noun)

a voluntary union for life (or until divorce) of adult parties of the same sex

"parties to a civil union have all the same benefits, protections, and responsibilities under Vermont law as spouses in a marriage"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

civil union(Noun)

A legal union similar to marriage, established to allow similar rights to same-sex couples, and in some jurisdictions opposite-sex couples, as partners in traditional marriages have.

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Civil union

Civil union, also referred to as civil partnership or registered partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in several, mostly developed, countries in order to provide legal recognition of relationships formed by unmarried same-sex couples and to afford them rights, benefits, and responsibilities similar to those of legally married couples. In some jurisdictions of Brazil, New Zealand, Uruguay, Ecuador, France and the U.S. states of Colorado, Hawaii and Illinois, civil unions are also open to opposite-sex couples.
Many countries with civil unions recognize foreign unions if those are essentially equivalent to their own; for example, the United Kingdom lists equivalent unions in Civil Partnership Act Schedule 20.
In several countries, civil unions for same-sex partners have been superseded by same-sex marriage.